tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2818334054422432499.post6088890980019674129..comments2015-07-31T05:31:03.244+02:00Comments on Authentic Parenting: Wouldn't you rather be Mom AUTHENTIC?Laura Schuerwegenhttps://plus.google.com/115843456211160623397noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2818334054422432499.post-73396597660012062482012-05-27T20:32:24.069+02:002012-05-27T20:32:24.069+02:00&quot;What really matters to us as parents and to ...&quot;What really matters to us as parents and to our children is if we are AUTHENTIC - being faithful to our internal needs and instincts rather than external ideals imposed by a magazine cover, baby manual or words of an expert.&quot;<br /><br />I disagree. I believe we need to be advocates for babies and children. We can&#39;t tell women to do what feels right and ignore the experts. We can&#39;t assume mothers are benevolent. Just this last week it was announced in health news that 20% of white women smoke during pregnancy. We don&#39;t even keep statistics on how many children are breastfed the 2 years the World Health Organization recommends. It is the norm for mothers to think of their own wants and needs instead of their child&#39;s needs. <br /><br />It may be self actualizing for mothers to feel authentic but their behaviors have life-long health, developmental, psychological, and other consequences on the helpless human they have been entrusted with. Few women know how to care for a baby or parent and they need to learn from books, videos, classes, conferences, online, or in other ways. <br /><br />The vast majority of mothers had parents that used an authoritarian style of parenting. When their child is two they feel helpless because they know they want something different but have no idea of what to do. To be an effective parent a mother needs to develop a repertoire of skills to use in a variety of situations. It&#39;s not instinctive. <br /><br />A child should not be considered a belonging that a mother can do what she wants with. A child is a future adult that is affected by what that mother does. As people that influence mothers we should be encouraging them to do what we know is best for babies and children.Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00992598207730543750noreply@blogger.com